For You • (Howl x Reader) ✔️

4- Howl

"Okay," was all I told her before getting up and leaving my house. I still couldn't understand why I decided to teach her magic. Maybe, I just owed her this much due to him. I sighed as different thoughts kept running in my head. I wanted to get rid of these thoughts and get rid of her, but since she said he sent her, I had no choice but to let her live in my house.

I ran my fingers through my hair harshly. I was frustrated. Why had I let her stay at my home? Why had I agreed to teach her? Why? Was it really the guilt? But I was living okay and well until she came inside my castle a few days ago. I didn't want to take her in. Yet, I couldn't deny it. I didn't want to teach her magic. Yet, I agreed to do so. It was as if she had come to my home to remind me of the guilt I had been suppressing for years. But her arrival brought me even more guilt than I imagined I had. I had always thought that I'd forget everything, and I had tried to do so. I did everything in my power, but I still couldn't do it. The guilt and the sorrow were a part of me forever.

I didn't know what to do. I wanted to scream and shout. But I couldn't do that. I spent all day trying to get these thoughts out of my mind. But nothing worked. I felt helpless against my own thoughts and emotions. I was bound to my inner emotions. It was getting darker and I still felt frustrated. If only she hadn't come here then everything would've been fine. I would have been fine; my life would have been fine.

I sighed as I made my way home after a long day of messed up emotions. Once I got inside my home, everything was quiet. It was after midnight so it was obvious that the others were asleep. I made my way to sit in front of my friend, the fire demon, but I saw Y/N sleeping on the couch. I looked at her. Her expression looked peaceful. Her hair was open and sprawled here and there, and she had her knees pressed to her chest. I sighed as I saw her. She was a part of our little family now.

I brought a blanket and draped it over her. She relaxed a little once she was warm. I looked at Calcifer. It seemed as if he was asleep too. I made my way to my room and climbed into my bed instantly. I closed my eyes and sighed. I brought my blanket close to me and hugged it. I fell asleep in an instant.

I woke up when the sunlight hit my face. I groaned as I got up from bed and made my way to the bathroom to get ready for a new day. I would have to teach Y/N magic too. I didn't want to do it but I had no choice. I had told her I would. Of course I could go and tell her that I wasn't interested in teaching her magic anymore, but I also had an idea as to why she was so determined to learn magic. I didn't know if I should help her or not. But maybe a few days teaching her wouldn't do any harm to her or me.

And after that if she bothered me too much or something else, I would just stop teaching her. I would have said no at that time as well, but one thing that led me to agreeing to teach her was her expression. It was desperate, almost as if her eyes were begging for me to teach her.

I went downstairs and was greeted by a sleepy looking Markl sitting on the dining table, with Y/N beside him. They were having breakfast. I said a good morning to them. They just nodded their heads, with their mouths full, while Calcifer just looked at me in acknowledgment. I smiled a little as I sat in my usual spot on the table. There was silence among us as all three of us ate. Y/N and Markl were almost done with their breakfast. Markl got up to leave the dishes in the sink. Y/N was about to go as well when I told her to sit. She did as told and looked down.

"Y/N, we will start your lessons from today. I don't know how much experience you have with magic, so I'll start from the basics." She instantly looked up at me. I could see her eyes gleaming. She nodded eagerly. "But, there is one condition." She frowned. "Which is?" she whispered. "You will have to do everything I say. You will have to be patient. If you know about what part of magic I'm teaching you, you can just tell me how much you know and we can skip it." She nodded and smiled a little. "I'm really thankful to you for doing this," she said. I nodded my head.

"So when are we going to start?" she asked me. "After I'm done eating. But remember, one wrong move or word and I won't teach you further," I warned her. She nodded. "Oh and you don't have to sit here until I eat if you don't want to," I told her softly. She got up and left towards the sink. She washed the dishes and then went towards the fire place, with Markl on her tail. Markl helped Y/N clean the ashes from the fireplace and put a few logs by the fire, so that it would be easy for the fire demon to take the logs even if one of us wasn't around. "Thankyou, Y/N," the fire said. That was highly unlikely of him. He wasn't the type to say thankyous. And Markl too, surely wasn't the type of boy to clean stuff and keep everything organized.

A smile found its way on my lips as I saw how Y/N had changed Calcifer and Markl in just under a week. They clearly liked her. Calcifer had been cold to her but he certainly wasn't like that anymore. It seemed as if two of the residents of my home had started liking Y/N. I kept watching Y/N's actions as she moved about my house, cleaning things and smiling when Calcifer or Markl would say something nice to her. When she talked to them, her voice was soft and sounded like butterflies. Her voice was just as delicate as she was.
"Howl, are you okay?" Calcifer asked me. Markl and Y/N immediately looked at me. "Yes, of course I'm fine," I said, smiling a little. They went back to what they were talking about. I took the dishes to the sink. After that I went upstairs to my room. When I came back after a few minutes, Y/N was laughing over something while she was washing the dishes I had left earlier. Who had told her to be a cleaning lady? I made a mental note to tell her that she doesn't have to work while staying here. I didn't mind it but she had just come here and suddenly my home was all clean and mess-free, everything was suddenly in its place and my home wasn't in a state of ruins anymore. Clearly, she had spent a lot of time in cleaning the mess that was my home.

"Y/N, come here. I wasn't you to study some stuff." She looked at me. She put the dishes away into their places and dried her hands on a towel. She made her way to the couch I was sitting on and sat a little beside me. I showed her a book. "Can you read this?" I asked her. She flipped a few pages. Her eyes moved over the letters. A moment later she looked up at me and nodded. "Did your grandfather teach you to study?" She just looked at me. "I, uh, yeah I guess he did," she said. She looked uncomfortable so I didn't press for further information. "Well then, you can read these books in your free time, since these have guidelines and precautions and some other tips for performing magic." She nodded.

"Now, let's go outside so that I can show you a few basic spells and how to perform and control them." I got up and she did too. She followed me outside. I showed her how to do a basic defense spell. She said she knew how to do that one. She showed me how she did it. Her form was perfect but she still needed to practice it to make her perfect at the spell itself. I showed her how to do it even better. She applied it and turned out, she was a quick learner. "You can practice this one spell for today. We will do one spell at a time, okay," I told her. She nodded and smiled gratefully. I returned it with a small smile of my own. I left her to practice and went inside my home and up the stairs to my room. I found some more books for Y/N to study.

The rest of the day just passed by. I checked up on Y/N once. She was doing it better than before. By noon, she was done with the spell. I told her to do it in practical form with me. She was good. "Now, you can go rest up. Read the book I gave you. If you don't understand anything you can come to me and ask. After you're done with this book, I'll give you some more to read." She nodded. "Thankyou, Howl." She said. "Call me master Howl from now on," I told her. She just looked at me, not saying a word.

I turned to leave but then something popped inside my mind and stopped in my tracks. "Oh, and Y/N...you don't have to be a cleaning lady here," I told her and then went inside, not waiting for her reply.

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A/N, This chapter is really cringe, lol. I almost forgot to update it today. But thankfully i remembered just in time.
Please leave comments as well. I like reading them.
Take care yall and stay safe.